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November 7, 2007Muslims & Christians raise a cross in Baghdad - UPDATED
Thanks to Michael Yon for permission to disseminate this awesome photograph, which he describes thusly:
It’s one of those photographs that takes the breath - there is a feeling of cognitive dissonance. Some of us on one side - who perhaps have never understood why we went to Iraq in the first place - may look at this picture and say, “but…but…Iraq is a hell-hole, an unmanageable, unwinnable, place of civil strife, death and occupied people who hate us!” Some of us on the other side, who - overwhelmed with images of burned flags and screaming mobs - may have forgotten the humanity of the Iraqi people (people we let down once before, and who had reason to distrust us and our commitment) may see these Muslims and Christians raising a cross together, in a language of brotherhood and gratitude, and say, “but…but…all those people are bad people…” Some of us will discover that we have said or thought both things at one time or another. It’s not important which one of those people you are. It’s important, though, to get a sense of what is going on over there, where our people are serving, living and dying. It’s important to realize that where there is danger and tragedy, there is also progress and hope. In the major media outlets, we get big servings of the first two and very niggardly helpings of the latter. We need a more balanced diet of information. Yon is delivering Iraq to us from the streets, and he’s doing it on donated dimes. Wretchard compares this photo, in spirit, to the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima. Rand Simberg calls it Pulitzer-worthy. I don’t know; I’m no judge of such things. What I see in this picture is something more than a historic moment - I don’t even know if that’s what we should call it - I see the sort of thing people do when they are neighbors, when they are working together for their neighborhood, for the good of all who live there, and that makes it seem less “historic” than calmly, wonderfully normal, ordinary, wholesome and sane. I see tolerance, which so many are so certain cannot exist in Iraq - or anywhere in the Middle East. Tolerance in the best sense of the word - converting no one, insisting on nothing beyond ordinary acceptance; tolerance that gives people room to live their lives.
Sarkozy is right; America is the land of second chances, and to me that is what we see in this photograph. A second chance for the Iraqi people, to take their lives and fortunes into their own hands after decades of oppression and tyranny. A second chance for trust to be built - between Iraq and America - where it was once squandered. A second chance for America, itself, which went into Iraq with noble intentions but unreal expectations, and which has managed to adapt and learn. This photograph is a defiant positive in a story of relentless negatives. Will the photo help bring about a “moment,” of national coalescence on the war? Doubtful. But it should be seen and discussed. I do think the photo might become iconic, if it disseminated through the mainstream press. Sarkozy also declared:
This picture says that. Profoundly. UPDATED: In my comments section, Dansker supplies a link explaining why and when the cross went down, some 7 months ago. To my way of thinking, the fact that it only came down 7 months ago takes nothing away from the good news that Muslims and Christians have re-raised it. It tells me that the tyrants are losing their hold, and illustrates that things are not what they were 7 months ago. Second chances, after all. The NY Times reports (on page A-19) that Al Qaeda has been routed in Baghdad. Also writing: http://theanchoressonline.com/2007/11/07/christians-and-muslims-raise-a-cross-in-baghdad/trackback/ 33 Responses to “Muslims & Christians raise a cross in Baghdad - UPDATED” |
November 7th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
[...] The Anchoress: [...]
November 7th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
Photo of the Year: Thanks and Praise…
Michael Yon has done it again. He snapped this photo of Muslims and Christians placing a cross on the top of a church that is so moving that the only……
November 7th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
[...] The Anchoress touches on the simplicity of the image: What I see in this picture is something more than a historic moment - I don’t even know if that’s what we should call it - I see the sort of thing people do when they are neighbors, when they are working together for their neighborhood, for the good of all who live there, and that to me makes it seem less “historic” than calmly, wonderfully normal, ordinary, sane and wholesome. I see tolerance, which so many are so certain cannot exist in Iraq - or anywhere in the Middle East. Tolerance in the best sense of the word - converting no one, insisting on nothing beyond ordinary acceptance; tolerance that gives people room to live their lives. Spread the word: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
November 7th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
[...] Club has similar thoughts Instapundit The Anchoress Bear Creek Swanky Conservative has another photo comparison Chris Muir Michelle Malkin ABC CBS NBC [...]
November 7th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
[...] The Anchoress: What I see in this picture is something more than a historic moment - I don’t even know if that’s what we should call it - I see the sort of thing people do when they are neighbors…… [...]
November 8th, 2007 at 12:59 am
[...] the photo. Ms. Malkin touched on it when she called it a “glimmer of good news” but The Anchoress brings it right up to the front where we can see it for what it really is: normal people doing a perfectly normal thing. What I [...]
November 8th, 2007 at 1:36 am
[...] Instapundit, The Belmont Club, Blue Crab Boulevard, Transterrestrial Musings, The Strata-Sphere, The Anchoress, The Corner, Michelle "I’m a Angry Republican and don’t you forget it" [...]
November 8th, 2007 at 6:41 am
It is a wonderful picture and it is definitely worth a Pulitzer.
And I hope you are right.
November 8th, 2007 at 8:06 am
Michael Yon Optimism…
Nearly 4,000 wooden crosses representing U.S. troops that have been killed in Iraq stand at a roadside memorial in Lafayette, Calif. U.S. military deaths in Iraq surpassed 850 this year, making 2007 the deadliest year since the war in Iraq……
November 8th, 2007 at 8:11 am
[...] The Anchoress shares her more polished thoughts on this photo. [...]
November 8th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Hats off to Michael Yon for truly being committed to excellence.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Don’t worry, Anchoress, folk of that first variety will surely dismiss the hopeful nature of this as an anomaly, probably with words like “anecdotal.” They are wrong, and always have been on this topic, and should likely be grateful that the world is a better place than they gave it credit for.
In the mean time, President Sarkozy is rapidly overcoming my wariness and impressing me more all the time.
Michael Yon, well, he’s impressed the heck out of me for a good while, now.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:42 am
What is missing from this story is that the cross was taken down as recently as 7 months ago, after threats from the islamic extremists who have far more influence now, than they did before the invasion.
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=9026&size=A
It’s nice that they were able to put it back up, but this is hardly as historic as some make it out to be. The cross was there before the invasion, and this is not an example of freedoms that haven’t existed in Iraq “in memory”, as Michael Yon claims. Unless memory is about half a year.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:58 am
[...] Anchoress reminded me of this today, with this commentary [scroll down] on French president Sarkozy’s speech to the U.S. Congress. Some times we need [...]
November 8th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Dansker, thank you for that information. I am not sure it changes anything I’ve written though, as I don’t think I went off declaring the picture much more than what I saw - a neighborly action, something to give us some pause, and a very hopeful sign. Whether it’s been 7 months or 7 years, that’s still true, I think, don’t you? My feeling (and I did think I expressed it fairly in my piece) is that from whereever you’re coming from on the Iraq war, there should be something good to find in the picture. I still see a second chance. Or are we simply never supposed to look at Iraq with hopeful eyes?
November 8th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Dear Anchoress, I agree that this is good news, and cause for optimism. I only object to the overall impression given by Micheal Yon that this represents new freedoms not experienced before the invasion.
For a better impression of where I’m coming from on this, I suggest reading this piece by famous Iraqi bloggeress Riverbend: http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2004_08_01_riverbendblog_archive.html
November 8th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Dansker that looks like a great blog, thanks. I’m tied up today with a looming deadline, but will look at it more fully this weekend.
November 8th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
[...] The Anchoress observes… What I see in this picture is something more than a historic moment - I don’t [...]
November 8th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
[...] up America, Buck Naked Politics, Connecting.the.Dots, QandO, Political Machine, The Strata-Sphere The Anchoress, The Corner, protein wisdom, UrbanGrounds, Gateway Pundit, Redstate, Andrew Sullivan, Washington [...]
November 8th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
One picture is worth a thousand blogposts…
While the MSM slept, Michael Yon — the self-employed, reader-empowered embedded journalist blogger reporting from the front — captured the spirit of the age in one amateur photograph that has touched the hearts and minds of our fellow citizens in…
November 8th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
Riverbend’s life was more comfortable under Saddam and she resents the changes that occurred in Iraq.
I have been reading her blog for 4 years and she has rarely written a positive article about anything. She is a fine writer but she is one who views life as a glass as half-empty and leaking.
If you would like to know the dark side of life in Iraq, you will find it described on her weblog “Baghdad is Burning”.
I’m not sure that she can find hope in anything that is happening in Iraq. She and her family are now refugees in Syria.
November 8th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
“There is hope here, and it lives in the thousands of stories about this place that are never told”…
While the MSM slept, Michael Yon — the self-employed, reader-empowered embedded journalist blogger reporting from the front — captured the spirit of the age in one amateur photograph that has touched the hearts and minds of our fellow citizens in…
November 8th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
[...] ever eloquent Anchoress connects the French President’s speech to this Pulizer-worthy photo from Michael [...]
November 8th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I have never believed that Joe and Jane Iraqi were bad people. I think the vast majority of the every day hometown people were too terrorized to be able to decide whether they were bad or good.
I’m happy we gave them the opportunity to decide for themselves what they will choose - good or evil. It makes me very happy to think that the vast majority of them will choose good.
This picture brought tears to my eyes and pouring down my face.
“The altar must often be built in one place in order for the Fire of God to descend in another.” Charles Williams
We may have gone there for one reason, but it seems we’re ending up there and getting an entirely different and wonderful result.
God grant that it continue.
November 8th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Shhhhh! Don’t Tell Anyone That al-Qaeda Is Being Beaten…
I don’t think we could find a better example of the blatant bias of our MSM then today’s story about how al-Qaeda has been routed in Baghdad. You would think thats an important story right? Worthy of front page news……
November 8th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
[...] up America, Buck Naked Politics, Connecting.the.Dots, QandO, Political Machine, The Strata-Sphere The Anchoress, The Corner, protein wisdom, UrbanGrounds, Gateway Pundit, Redstate, Andrew Sullivan, Washington [...]
November 8th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
[...] Gateway Pundit notes the success trends of the surge with charts galore. U.S. death tolls in Iraq are down to 38, the lowest since March of 2006. Violent deaths are down dramatically as well. Iraqis are returning to Baghdad in droves because the streets are safer. Hope and religious freedom are blooming. [...]
November 8th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
[...] H/T: Michelle Malkin, Cao, the Anchoress [...]
November 8th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
[...] H/T: The Anchoress [...]
November 8th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
[...] The Anchoress [...]
November 9th, 2007 at 10:39 am
A beautiful moment in time…
So thankful for those who lead to brightness.
Like the amazing Anchoress, Mr. Yon, and President Bush (who has been slandered in the most horrific manner, and still remained resolved for an admirable endeavor intent upon liberation).
There isn’t a day that goes by, with some reflection, empathy, prayers, hope for those brave members of the US Armed Forces, and the Iraq People.
Long before 9-11, the Arab Region needed an intervention, and it has begun.
November 9th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
[...] buzz throughout the blogosphere on sites such as Captain’s Quarters, Michelle Malkin, and the Anchoress as a sign of everyday progress — not just militarily but in the battle for the "hearts and [...]
November 11th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Concur with #21, David St. Lawrence’s comments about Riverbend. Been reading it for years. She believes that the Jordanian Zarqawi (deceased) was “an American creation”. Her distaste and blind hatred for the US cannot be more overt.
Most think she is a young girl. Yet Riverbend was 24 when she started the blog in 2003, and rapidly approaching the age of 30 by now.
Why still with her parents, I wonder. She pines for the Baghdad before the war. The Baghdad where “No one bothered with what was considered a trivial topic: are you Sunni or Shia? You only asked something like that if you were uncouth and backward.”
Uh huh. Tell that to those in the mass graves of Saddam. Will we find many Sunnis there?
Riverbend must have led the privileged life of a Sunni in Saddam’s Iraq. She is an alternative viewpoint to the more reasoned criticisms of Iraq The Model. However it is a viewpoint that is overwhelmingly negative.
Even more odd that she leaves the violence and negatives behind, opting instead for the oppression of Syria, while her own countrymen continue to fight for a free Iraq. Syria is not a nation that gives vast opportunities to those with pro-western values. So I must assume she possesses none.